By John Ikani
A Kaduna State High Court has ordered the release of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife Zinatu.
The defendants were conveyed to court on Wednesday morning by officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service amid tight security.
Their lead Counsel and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had on July 1, argued that all the 15 witnesses presented by the prosecution counsel were unable to establish any connection between the alleged crimes and Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife.
Falana then prayed the court to rule in favour of his clients and dismiss the charges levelled against them as there was no criminal case that has been established against them so far by the Kaduna State Government.
In an eight-hour ruling, Justice Gideon Kurada upheld the no-case submission filed by El-Zakzaky and his wife.
The judge in his ruling held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendants.
El-Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat have been standing trial for four years on an eight-count charge of culpable homicide, disruption of public peace and unlawful assembly among others levelled against them by the Kaduna State Government.
The government accused them of being responsible for the death of a soldier when soldiers massacred over 300 protesting Shiites in December 2015.
